


the guy from the ticket office

by theresnourieandme



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Bisexual E.J. Caswell, Bisexual Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 14:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22497379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theresnourieandme/pseuds/theresnourieandme
Summary: Gina forces Ricky to go on roller-coasters, and Ricky meets a pretty hot boy who works at the ticket office.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	the guy from the ticket office

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this is my first rj work so don't judge lmao. hope you like it! <3

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" yelled Gina, who was some meters ahead of him. Big Red and Ashlyn had made clear that they didn't want to do the roller-coasters, so Gina, who was dying to do them, had asked him to go with her.

Ricky didn't like roller-coasters very much. He wasn't afraid, he simply didn't feel comfortable with the idea of not having his feet on solid ground. "No, it won't," he replied, speeding up to approach her.

She chuckled, taking his hand and leading him to the ticket office. "Two tickets, please" she said to the boy behind the counter.

Ricky studied him for a moment, and felt a warm in his chest. The boy was handsome: his blue eyes were following his movements while he was giving them the tickets, and his black hair was combed in a well-groomed tuft. Before Gina could drag him away, Ricky read the name tag on which the charming boy’s name was written: E.J.

As they sat on one of the wagons and Gina gave the ticket to the conductor, Ricky blinked several times, skeptical. When his best friend turned to him, probably to ask him what was happening to him, Ricky grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

She pulled back, trying to free herself from her grip. "Ricky, what’s wrong with you?"

"My eyes have just been blessed."

"What are you talking about?!"

Ricky finally recovered, returning to reality, and remembered that he hadn’t come out yet. "Nothing, never mind." He let go of Gina who, as the roller-coaster started moving slowly, turned to look at the ticket office for one last time, slightly suspicious.

Ricky did not particularly enjoy the ride, continuing to think all the time about that bored and mysterious guy at the ticket office. He wondered if he’d ever meet him again. Salt Lake City was quite big, so probably not. He still let himself be charmed by the idea of knowing his character, listening to his voice, possibly not when he said 'two dollars, thank you'. EJ. Was it an acronym or a diminutive? Did it have an important meaning? Did he like his name?

One thought caught him unprepared. Should he have asked for his number?

No. No one gave their number to a stranger, much less an amusement park.

The second ride began, and Ricky cashed out just in time to take another look at EJ. He continued to do his work in that indifferent air when a girl approached him. Ricky only saw EJ leaning towards her, probably with the intention of kissing her, before being driven away by the speed of the roller coaster.

********

"It was very nice!" Ashlyn exclaimed, holding Big Red’s hand. He smiled and nodded.

They were coming out of the amusement park at that very moment, and the sun was shining on the mountains in front of them as the last orange rays set behind the amusement park. The day had been really good, and Ricky had to admit that he hadn’t had that much fun since he was at the skate park for the first time. After reaching Ricky’s car, Gina suddenly stopped before opening the door and getting in.

"Hey, Ricky," she began, pointing her head at an unspecified point behind him. "Isn’t that the guy from the ticket office?"

"What guy from the ticket office?" Ashlyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ricky turned around unanswered and vaguely listened to Gina turn to Ashlyn and Big Red. EJ was no longer wearing the amusement park uniform, but a regular blue shirt with a black leather jacket on it. The sunset light struck him perfectly, and made him even more charming in the eyes of the curl.

"Go talk to him!" Gina said to him, opening the door. "We will not eavesdrop, promised."

Ricky turned towards them. "Promised?"

All three nodded, and Ricky took a big breath before setting off. Would that have turned out disturbing? What if EJ felt threatened? All possible negative thoughts went through his mind, and nothing seemed to calm his nerves.

When he was close enough, before EJ could get in the car, Ricky took another deep breath.

"Hey, hi," he said, all in one breath. The other stopped and turned to look at him a little puzzled, but pleasantly surprised.

"Hello," he replied, taking all the time in the world to observe him. Ricky felt his muscles twitching from the agitation, but tried not to pay too much attention to it. "Can I help you in any way?"

"I..." Ricky scratched the back of his head, realizing he didn’t really know what he was going to say. "No. I mean, yeah."

EJ giggled, and Ricky looked up, surprised by that unexpected and spontaneous reaction. "Calm down, man. EJ Caswell," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Ricky grabbed it, still upset. "Ricky Bowen," he replied.

EJ paused to think, and Ricky could see the gears spinning in the dark-haired head. "How about having coffee one day?"

Ricky nodded. "I have to go now," he said, pointing at the car. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his friends looking through the closed windows, and pretended not to notice them.

"Here’s my number," said EJ, writing it on a flyer found on the hood with a pen coming from who knows where. "Call me," he added, handing it to him and winking at him.

Ricky blushed violently and nodded, waving at him quickly. He got in the car and started the engine in a moment, avoiding the looks of his best friends.

"He gave you his number, didn't he?" asked Ashlyn all of a sudden, breaking the silence.

"Yup."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."


End file.
